Dan Hooker

Overview

Dan Hooker has fought the elite of the lightweight division more often than almost anyone, and the record shows it: 14-11 in the UFC, with nine finishes on the win side and five knockout losses on the other. The Auckland-born New Zealander, nicknamed "The Hangman", is a switch-stance lightweight out of Saigon Sports Club in Vietnam who debuted in June 2014 and has headlined four UFC cards.

His wins arrive fast and his losses arrive faster. Five of his nine finishes came in the first round. He carries a three-fight losing streak into his next fight, which is the longest skid of his UFC run.

UFC Career

Hooker opened with a first-round TKO of Ian Entwistle, then dropped unanimous decisions to Maximo Blanco, Yair Rodriguez and Jason Knight in a stop-start first few years. Between those losses he beat Hatsu Hioki by second-round TKO and submitted Mark Eddiva in 1:24.

The best run came from 2017 to 2019. Wins over Ross Pearson, Marc Diakiese, Jim Miller and Gilbert Burns made four straight, his longest UFC streak. Edson Barboza ended it with a third-round TKO. Hooker answered with a first-round finish of James Vick, then beat Al Iaquinta by unanimous decision.

In February 2020 he headlined against Paul Felder and won a five-round split decision. Four months later he headlined again and lost a five-round unanimous decision to Dustin Poirier, one of the elite opponents of his career. He lost by first-round TKO to Michael Chandler next, and by first-round submission to Islam Makhachev in October 2021, another elite opponent. Arnold Allen stopped him in the first round the following March.

A rebuild followed: a second-round TKO of Claudio Puelles and split-decision wins over Jalin Turner and Mateusz Gamrot. The Gamrot fight was a win over an elite opponent, his only one.

Since then it has gone wrong. Arman Tsarukyan submitted him in the second round of a main event, Benoît Saint Denis stopped him in the second, and Salahdine Parnasse knocked him out in the first round of another main event.

Eleven of his 25 UFC fights have come against strong or elite opponents. The record reflects that.

Fighting Style

Hooker is a busy striker who throws a lot and gets hit a lot. He outworks most of the division on volume, but he also takes more shots than most fighters do. His accuracy and defense are about what you would expect, so his output comes from staying active rather than from precision.

He almost never shoots for takedowns, yet he is very hard to put on the mat. That keeps most of his fights standing.

Seven of his nine UFC finishes are knockouts or TKOs, and four of those came in the first round. He also has two submission wins, one in the first round and one in the third, so he is not only a striker.

The losses show the other side of his style. Five came by KO/TKO and two by submission, so seven of his 11 defeats were finishes.

Notable Wins

• Mateusz Gamrot: split decision, round 3, UFC 305 (2024)
• Gilbert Burns: TKO, round 1, UFC 226 (2018)
• Paul Felder: split decision, round 5, UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. Hooker (2020)
• Jalin Turner: split decision, round 3, UFC 290 (2023)

Quick Facts

• Division: Lightweight
• UFC record: 14-11
• Professional record (all promotions): 24-15-0
• UFC debut: June 27, 2014
• Stance: Switch
• Height / reach: 6'0" / 75"
• Team: Saigon Sports Club, Vietnam
• Born: Auckland, New Zealand